No spoilers here, but fans of WHEN YOU REACH ME will appreciate the references Stead makes within the story that can lead to conversations outside ofNo spoilers here, but fans of WHEN YOU REACH ME will appreciate the references Stead makes within the story that can lead to conversations outside of the text to include art, popular culture, and the joy of the time-honored classic Scrabble. Extensive conversations about taste buds invite a cross-content area reading and research opportunity.

With WHEN YOU REACH ME, Rebecca Stead is "stead"-ily becoming the M. Night Syamalan of middle grade literature. Everyone will want to know how a science experiment will turn out for the main character, Georges. . .

. . .and by the end of the book, you'll wonder who was playing it "safer. . ." the characters IN the book or the reader HOLDING the book bracing for what they think they might know early on in the reading....more

I'm so glad that my friend, Alyson Beecher, introduced me to this little gem about a girl named Alice who "adopts" a lonely book. When they part ways-I'm so glad that my friend, Alyson Beecher, introduced me to this little gem about a girl named Alice who "adopts" a lonely book. When they part ways--as often happens with our books sometimes--she goes to try to find it again.

I guess this story resonates with me because I spent some time last year trying to identify a book from my own childhood. With some searching, I was able to find the very edition I had as a nine-year-old living in n. Michigan.

Librarians especially will love this little book, but readers will find something most familiar in the story and in the illustrations....more

This October 2012 release from Lerner Publishing Group is absolutely gorgeous. Gabi Swiatkowska's illustrations are vivid and mesmerizing. I didn't geThis October 2012 release from Lerner Publishing Group is absolutely gorgeous. Gabi Swiatkowska's illustrations are vivid and mesmerizing. I didn't get Gabi's style with Kimberly Willis Holt's WAITING FOR GREGORY, but the style rings true in INFINITY AND ME. Caldecott short lists will shift for sure with this release.

Kate Hosford's character is a mentor character for approaching, embracing, and thinking through new ideas. Adult characters in the book are able to address inquiry with imagination and examples from their own experiences.

Ladder this one up with MATH CURSE, but keep it separate for its focus on grandmothers and their special brand of love.

Ladder it up in Trascendentalism units for discussions regarding how we find ourselves in the moment within an ever-changing universe.

A fun read that is reminiscent of THE MONSTER AT THE END OF THIS BOOK. Waga is funny--maybe a little frightening for the very young reader--and boy reA fun read that is reminiscent of THE MONSTER AT THE END OF THIS BOOK. Waga is funny--maybe a little frightening for the very young reader--and boy readers would enjoy the monster, scary, creepy features of the book with a surprise ending that is in keeping with the Waga....more

Love. Just plain love. And hearing Noah (11) chuckle from his room where he read it after his own Daddy. . .well. . .that just seals it. I cannot waitLove. Just plain love. And hearing Noah (11) chuckle from his room where he read it after his own Daddy. . .well. . .that just seals it. I cannot wait to share this with my teacher-buddy in the morning....more

Natural "ladders" to SEEDFOLKS with a woman's discovery of soybeans in an Illinois cornfield that are shared by a farmer who is seemingly unaware of tNatural "ladders" to SEEDFOLKS with a woman's discovery of soybeans in an Illinois cornfield that are shared by a farmer who is seemingly unaware of the soybean's cultural significance.

References to Indiana and a town three hours from Chicago might lead to state-based geography lessons.

Beautiful artwork would make this title a welcome addition to titles that celebrate diversity, culture, and community together....more

Bob Staake's illustrations are like a pop-art wonder. Fans of robots would love this one. How is this book not being built into a series for younger aBob Staake's illustrations are like a pop-art wonder. Fans of robots would love this one. How is this book not being built into a series for younger audience about the further adventures of Blink, Zink, Blip, and Zip?

My uncle who was visiting for the weekend once showed me how to make a machine from my hands. You scrunch up your fingers, pull the thumb back, and leMy uncle who was visiting for the weekend once showed me how to make a machine from my hands. You scrunch up your fingers, pull the thumb back, and let the hand flop back and forth crazily. I don't know why, but I thought this was great fun. . .

I am going to be a little bold with this review. Could it be that we are seeing more and more fidgeting in the classrooms today because of the lack of movement we used to see as youngsters?

What would this look like for our kinesthetic learners to be able to return to familiar finger-play under the desk or just give the hands something familiar to return to in those down-times. And these are just suggestions; I don't have research to back up that this would work at all.

However, I am seeing at the 11th grade level a true disconnect between older readers and the experiences with simple rhyme and finger play that end up making the lead learner look like a throw back to yesteryear. What took the place of these simple rhymes and invitations to move? Why--when I polled 150 students this year to see if they could name children's poets did Mother Goose not come up one time?

Johnny WhoopsThe Hammer SongThis Old Man

A fun collection of poems here with musical arrangements in the back.

Mike Schmoker talks about FOCUS. Could we have lost our focus in early elementary music programs by not sharing these rhymes that became a part of our generation's cultural literacy? Do our new teachers going into classrooms know these familiar rhymes?

This is what I think about when I "open it up and see all of the people."...more

Funny. Poignant with the Sendak inserts to include a blurb on the front cover and an illustration in the back of the book. Stephen Colbert does what gFunny. Poignant with the Sendak inserts to include a blurb on the front cover and an illustration in the back of the book. Stephen Colbert does what good satirists do--poke fun without being necessarily cruel. The overall message seems to be to present a celebrity book that aims to take itself a little too seriously. ...more

This would be a super book to share during a unit about space or space exploration. This one tells the story of the many within mankind who have not wThis would be a super book to share during a unit about space or space exploration. This one tells the story of the many within mankind who have not walked upon the moon and the dream represented in those steps for those/these people. ...more

Catch the "buzz" on this new collection of poems from Douglas Florian. With non-fiction elements embedded upon each page, this CCSS-ready collection wCatch the "buzz" on this new collection of poems from Douglas Florian. With non-fiction elements embedded upon each page, this CCSS-ready collection would be a real "honey" for inclusion in units regarding nature, insects, bees.

Perfect "ladder" for the upcoming A BOY AND A BEAR IN A BOAT (June 2012) wherein we will see more of this kind of Maudie behavior and more long-sufferPerfect "ladder" for the upcoming A BOY AND A BEAR IN A BOAT (June 2012) wherein we will see more of this kind of Maudie behavior and more long-suffering on the part of a bear. The illustrations here are beautiful. Who wouldn't love a nursery decked out in bear-themed decor without the boorish behavior of Maudie (which sounds too much like Maddie for my comfort--my Maddie is a princess. . .who has been given to moments of "Mad-i-tude," but I wish I could have seen something in Maudie that would have brought her around full-circle into the friendship). ...more

Bernard Waber's book would work well in the secondary classroom as an in-road to conversations regarding "courage." It would also work well within a lBernard Waber's book would work well in the secondary classroom as an in-road to conversations regarding "courage." It would also work well within a lesson on CLASSIFICATION as different "kinds" of courage are explored within the book.

Thank you, Franki Sibberson for recommending this book as part of your Choice Literacy article about vocabulary instruction....more

I've not read the other Petunia books, but I love this one with its ladders to WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE (with a nod from Sendak in the afterward), TUI've not read the other Petunia books, but I love this one with its ladders to WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE (with a nod from Sendak in the afterward), TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE (and the idea of being "fully human") and WALDEN (with the idea of sometimes needing to get away).

A celebration of cities and and their special attributes around the world. Accessible verse captures the feel of "Anywhere City" but the illustrationsA celebration of cities and and their special attributes around the world. Accessible verse captures the feel of "Anywhere City" but the illustrations help us to see where the poem is taking place. ...more